When the dead roam - (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 36 - You need to rest

She jolted awake. Every muscle in her body ached and her eyes refused to stay open for longer than a few seconds but she refused to back down. Her hands shook by her side as she attempted to push herself up right - inevitably falling back down in the process. The smell of chemicals invaded her nose, sending a shiver down her spine and what little food she has previously eaten to make its way back up her throat. Cold air pricked at her pale skin, lifting her small blonde hairs into an upright position.

Carefully she lifted an arm up to her head and pressed her temple lightly "Son of a bitch"

Her eyes still demanded to be closed and she squeezed them shut, hoping once they re-opened they would focus on her surroundings but she still couldn't make out the picture in front of her. Fuzzy lines draped down in columns, blending every item into one huge ball of mess. She could feel a restriction on her arm and something tugging on the back of her neck. The pain was excruciating and even moving her small hand was enough to force a whimper out of her dry mouth. 

"No Lou" her brother said, immediately rushing to her aid and pushing her back down onto the hard mattress below her. "You need to rest. Do you remember what happened?"

She brought  a hand to her head, lightly pushing against her temple as she willed her eyes to make any kind of sense of her surrounds. "Yeah. I got shot by an asshole with a W engraved into his forehead"

"They're called Wolves" he informed her, placing a hand on her forearm.

"Wankers more like" she stated, the room finally beginning to settle.  She pushed herself upwards again, still using a hand to keep her head steady, and she let her legs drop down past the bed. Finally, she could make out the white sling over her arm, slight marks of crimson dotted across the fabric.

"Lou you need to rest" Shawn insisted, attempting to maneuver her again.

She groaned in frustration and pushed his body away from hers "Shaw, at some point in your pathetic life you need to realize something. I don't need you anymore"

"Lou-"

"Where's Nicole? Is she alright?"

"The girl you brought back? She's fine Lou, just" his anger began to grow "Will you listen to me please? I'm trying to look out for you!"

"What, like you looked after Hollie?" she snapped, moving a head a little too quickly and sending a wave of nausea over her body "Do yourself a favor Shawn and stay away from me"

"Lou, I'm your brother you can't just push me away" he stated, standing up and towering over her small, injured frame.

"Push implies I care Shawn" she shifted in her seat, moving the blood covered blanket "And I don't. If anything, I'm throwing you away. Now get out of my face"

"Lou please"

"Leave Shawn"

Reluctantly he moved away from her. His hands clenched into fists at his side and he connected his foot with the medical cart, kicking it to the other side of the room as he yelled. The metal connected with the far wall, shattering instruments and sending bottles of pills to the floor. The plastic broke on impact and small white tablets scattered themselves along the laminate.

Lou shook her head at him, cursing him under her breath as Denise made her way into the dimply lit room.

"Boy am I glad I missed that conversation" she smirked at her patient "You alright?"

"Lets skip the pleasantries, I need to get back out there" Lou said quickly, sliding off the bed and ignoring the bile in her stomach that threatened to spill out "Where's the kid?"

"She's safe. Wouldn't leave your side until she knew you were gonna be alright" Denise smirked, fumbling with a blood pressure monitor as she spoke "She's a touch one Lou"

Unusually, Lou smiled at the woman who saved her life before coughing awkwardly "Good. Okay I need to get back out there and help the others. Is Daryl okay?"

Denise's gaze shifted to the floor and she moved her feet awkwardly as she pushed the black material up Lou's arm and pressed a button.

"What? Denise?"

"They're not back yet Lou" she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck as she spoke and writing Lou's vitals on a pad of paper. "One sixteen over Seventy three, its fine"

"What do you mean they're not back yet?" Lou asked, completely ignoring that her blood pressure was within normal measures.

Denise unwrapped the velcro and pulled the machine away from Lou's arm "Nobody's seen them since you split up. Rick, Daryl, Shasha, Abraham...nobody knows where they are"

"Okay, well then I need to go and find them" she stated, grabbing her leather jacket and attempting to put it on but failing miserably due to the restriction of her arm "Shit. Okay, how long was I out?" she threw the jacket back onto the hook.

"About four hours"

"Four?" she cursed under her breath "Right okay, I need to go"

"What you need is for me to finish taking your vitals. Sit back down"

"But-"

"Lou, the quicker you sit down, the quicker I'll ignore every medical training I have and let you wonder back into hell. Alright?" she said rapidly, gesturing towards the bed that Lou previous occupied.

Lou grumbled in response "Fine"